Dispelling IoT Hype Versus Reality at 2017 Indy Big Data Conference

DATTUS was a promotional sponsor of the event, and we were honored to have Anurag speak in one of the many informative breakout sessions. The title of Anurag’s session was “IoT Hype vs. Reality in 2017” and centered around comparing the outside views and coverage of the Internet of Things with his hands-on experience of working with multiple partners and companies currently dealing with Industry 4.0.

“Over the last 10 years or so, we’ve seen a lot of statistics being published on how big the Industrial IoT market is,” Anurag said, citing an example of the wide range of numbers that can be inflated around the industrial internet of things coverage. 50 billion industrial devices connected to the web by 2020, $7.1 trillion of economic impact globally by 2020, and many more wildly impressive numbers.

“All these numbers keep growing, depending on which consultancy firm they’re coming from,” Anurag said. “At some point, the market realizes that this is not the best thing since sliced bread and expectations level out. That’s where IIoT is right now.”

Referencing the Gartner Hype Curve, Anurag walked attendees through the recent history of IIoT and explained why there is so much media buzz and awareness around the industry at the moment. The hype has really been building since 2008, when companies realized the effectiveness of internet-connected systems implemented in the industrial sector. This is what Gartner refers to as the “innovation trigger,” and expectations grew as people realize the wild possibilities that were possible from internet of things companies, but as Anurag noted in his discussion, there are more than just technological hurdles for IoT solutions to become more widespread.

“The challenges to implementing IIoT are not technological, they are human. We need to find a better way to change habits,” Anurag said. “You may have a $7 trillion impact potential, but you’re not going to get there unless you change very basic habits.”

According to Anurag, the challenge to change human habits is the largest gap between the hype around IIoT and the reality of it. People at all levels of industrial companies need to learn habits that utilize the internet of things in a way that helps their larger organizations as a whole.

“At DATTUS we realize to change the game of IIoT, we have to build solutions that change habits,” Anurag said. “We have to make data collection easy, make access to data easy, and make access to analytics easy on a medium that people use so it can be a trigger for changing those habits.”

Even though industrial IoT companies are currently suffering from this inflated hype and attention, Anurag explained that there are very real benefits for industrial organizations who adopt a industrial IoT solutions now instead of waiting. Anurag, citing Bill Ruh, General Electric’s Chief Digital Officer, said “Industrial companies that don’t invest in data now will eventually be like consumer companies that missed the internet.”

Bring your organization into the reality of IIoT

The path toward a real and effective industrial IoT starts here. If you’re interested in a live demonstration of how DATTUS can help equip your plant, click here.

Join our team!

We are always adding new talent to our team here at DATTUS. Check out our careers page to see current openings.